Lies You Keep Telling Yourself To Avoid Booking In That Japan Trip
You should never lie. It’s an incredibly bad habit that no one should possess. That being said, we all do it, and if anything, we lie to ourselves the most out of everyone.
How many times have you told yourself, “If this happens one more time, I’ll quit,” or assured yourself, “I’m going to enjoy this ice cream tonight, but tomorrow, I’m actually locking in and starting my diet.”We’re going to go out on a limb here and guess a lot. Whether it’s debating if cost will go down the next day or tricking yourself into believing it’s ‘overhyped anyway’, there’s a multitude of little white lies that you’re telling yourself daily to avoid the stress of actually locking in that trip.
So, as Japan’s very own self-appointed myth busters, we are going to do some debunking, looking into the main fibs you keep telling yourself to avoid booking that trip in:
‘They will save money in time’
Your savings are looking plump, you’ve been researching the best resorts to go riding, decided where to stay, worked out the cost of rentals, and your friends keep telling you that they just need to save a 'little bit more' before they can commit to booking…
Yep, we’ve all been in this situation before, but does that mean we should again? How many times can you miss out on an epic winter holiday before enough is enough?
Time to take the first leap. Normally, it’ll end up being the push your friends need to finally commit as well.
'we can find cheaper’
We don’t want to imply that if you don’t book now, there will never be better exchange rates, because really, we thought that would be the case last year and it’s only just continued to drop lower and lower. Which, for us here in Japan, isn’t great, but for all of you looking to come over and visit, it literally couldn’t be better.
So to break it down without asserting a huge claim, the Yen is currently the lowest it has ever been compared to the US dollar, exchanging at around $0.61 USD to ¥100 JPY, so yes, as it currently stands, it’s never been cheaper for foreign tourists…
‘I don’t want to eat an a convenience store’
Everyone enters Japan a foodie and by the end of your two week stint you’ll be living off the konbini favourites.
Not to save cost, because after eating your way around the country, the quality of the food found inside a konbini is that good you won’t only be offsetting expensive meal options for a ready made treat, you’ll actively be craving them.
‘We may as well just stay close to home’
Have you seen the season Aus is currently having? How about Whistler’s 25/26 snowfall?
You can stay home, but you’ll be testing out your brand new Jones ‘Frontier’ on grass hills…
‘There’s no snow in Spring’
Over March this year, Niseko snowed upwards of 13 times in the month… so if you’ve been holding off on booking some spring skiing because you’re not sure if there will be enough snow, you’re truly forcing yourself to miss out.
Not only does it continue snowing over the springtime months, a trip during shoulder season really allows you to make the most of your holiday.
More sunshine equaling longer days, less lift lines, all the best events, and epic discounts on both retail and on-snow experiences like lessons and guiding, spring is arguably the best time to visit Japow, you just won’t let yourself believe it.
‘There won’t be suitable gear’
Ever tried to go surfing with your snowboard? How about playing basketball with a pair of football cleats on?
Sometimes, sports gear only really works for the sport it was designed for. Even more so, the specific style of sport it was intended to be used for. Meaning that while your Dynastar M-Free’s and Rome Rene-Gade might fare pretty well in the conditions in Aus or the US, that doesn’t mean they will handle Japan’s famous lightweight pow with ease.
Sure, they might do the trick at times, but at other times, you’ll be missing out on the views due to all the time you’re spending nosediving.
Don’t make that mistake. Year after year, we have customers come in on day 3 of their trip complaining that they are riding like a kook on their own gear. On day four, they’re normally coming back in to thank us for the rental.
Sometimes you just need to ride the gear that's designed and tested for the conditions you’re using it in.
‘the area you book accom matters too much’
Niseko United has four different interconnected ski resorts. Furano, two. Hakuba, 10, with the longest travel distance between them being a solid 25 - 30 km (Cortina - Kashimayari).
As you can imagine, with that amount of distance between, choosing where you want to ride, which lift pass you need and where to stay are pretty mammoth make-or-break decisions while booking in your ski trip. Don’t misguide yourself and think that no matter where you pick there will be ski-in, ski-out options.
Look into the region and choose the spots closest to your mountain of choice and ski rental provider, otherwise, you might end up bootpacking long before you ever reach the mountain.
‘Japan’s overhyped anyway’
Some of the best food in the world, epic nightlife options, fresh sushi, picturesque onsen facilities, waist deep pow, karaoke, the list goes on. If you’re still thinking Japan’s overhyped, it’s probably because you haven’t been here yet.
‘Bringing our own gear is easier’
Out of all the lies on this list, tricking yourself into thinking that it’s easier to bring your own gear is probably the closest to the scene in 'Interstellar' where McConaughey is watching a past version of himself while screaming and crying at the fact that he can’t change his past decision.
That will be you, trust us. Lugging your ski bag through metropolitan Japanese train stations is possibly an absolute nightmare. Narrow train carriages overpacked with people, some of the biggest stair sets you’ve ever seen, it’s honestly the opposite of a good time.
Rolling through with a backpack to then get kitted and fitted once you get to town seems a lot easier to us.
‘It won't book out’
Over winter 2025-26, Niseko alone received over 2.14 million tourists, and that’s just the beginning, with the National Government’s stated goal to reach 30 million annual tourists by 2030. As you can imagine, 2.14 million people have a lot of different sets of skis… it’s even more boots. So if you think all the best rentals, accoms and lesson and guiding services won’t get sold out, think again.
AND, the longer you leave it, the more you’ll pay… it’s currently early bird season, make the most of it.
‘I don’t even feel like it’
Yeah sure, buddy.
Stop kidding yourself, it's time to book in that trip! Plus, if you book now, you'll score 20% off rentals, lessons and guiding!